The good news is that Benji Marshall is a Tiger for life. But at what cost?
The NRL needs to consider capping the number of years a player can sign under a guaranteed contract.
If Marshall suffers a season ending or multiple season injury, not hard to comprehend given his history, where does that leave the Tigers?
They are on the hook for Marshall’s contract till 2015 regardless of whether he plays or not.
Under the salary cap, it would be impossible for the Tigers to sign a ‘high profile’ replacement player to take Marshall’s place.
The club’s progress would be stalled until 2015. Are fans happy to cop this?
Every fan loves a one club stalwart, and yes the introduction of a salary cap has made it harder for players and clubs to remain coupled from pup to pasture.
Marshall’s extension is notably being celebrated as loyalty restored; a saving grace of sorts for a league constantly under threat of cross code defections.
Fairfax broke the story yesterday with Who said loyalty was dead?, Richard Hinds has written today It’s easy to ridicule players for their lack of loyalty, so let’s holler for Benji.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for fans of rugby league and the NRL that Marshall has decided to go all in with the sport until 2015. Now that Marshall has invested in the NRL, maybe Jonathon Thurston will follow suit.
But the rumours and innuendo of cross code defections are here to stay and frankly as a sports fan are an intriguing proposition.
The larger issue for the NRL is the threat of guaranteed contracts crippling clubs for the life of the contract.
NBA teams are constantly plagued by lengthy guaranteed contracts and often try to salary dump by trading the player in question. If the salary is so large no other team is willing take it on, the club is left immobilised and fans suffer.
The NRL needs to a cap the length clubs can sign a player to a guaranteed contract before fans bear the brunt.
If you think it’s worthy or can spare the ink please email your thoughts, opinions to litresofink@gmail.com
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